Rating: 
Summary: Too Much but Not Enough
Review: I was looking forward to reading about the life and times of JT but instead got pages upon pages upon pages about the Taylor family ancestry. When the author finally got around to the subject of the book, there wasn't much there. The information on how JT got started and the many famous musicians and songwriters he crossed paths with along the way was good. (King, Baez, Simon, Garfunkel, McCartney, etc. etc) The stories of JT's parents and siblings made for good reading as were the stories of the demons (drugs & alcohol) JT has battled over the years. The music and the meaning behind many of his songs was also pretty good. Overall though, I was disappointed. It was hard to follow and the author has what could be described as an arrogant and pompous writing style.
Rating: 
Summary: The Most Authoritative Work On JT
Review: If James Taylor is to be believed, an autobiography is unlikely. You should look no further than his songs for his take on life, he says, and most fans are inclined to believe him. The songs don't tell us everything, though. It's natural to crave more information about the man behind the songs, the performances, and of course the real story behind "Fire And Rain." It's difficult to imagine a more exhaustive or authoritative work about James Taylor than this, the culmination of Billboard Editor-In-Chief Timothy White's decades-long friendship and professional ties with James Taylor. James Taylor: Long Ago And Far Away is, from the start, mind-boggling in its chronological scope. For evidence read just a few pages in, where you'll join Taylor's 17th-century ancestors, tracking the Taylor bloodline through the ages and following father Ike Taylor to naval duty in Antarctica before gradually shifting the focus to JT nearly 100 pages into the narrative. In the pages that follow, White's close familiarity with Taylor and admiration for his talents make for a sensitively presented, minutely-detailed story. Family ties are examined closely, with extensive direct observations by JT, mother Trudy and father Isaac, siblings, musical contemporaries, and ex-wives Carly Simon and Kathryn Walker. The story never lacks for direct quotes from the people who were there, and it's much richer for it. When JT describes his relationship with his father, White quotes each of them and also from family letters between the two. And when describing the impetus for "Fire And Rain," White gives us the enigmatic Suzanne's full name. As the story progresses into JT's musical career, White's musical experience allows him to speak with authority -- at times truly encyclopedically. When a brief mention of a musical venue turns into a multi-page catalog of dozens of other artists who played there and influenced the music of the time, all but the most patient students of pop music may think about jumping ahead to when the story veers back to JT himself. Musicologists will be in heaven, though, and clearly the JT-specific parts of this 430-page book didn't get less attention because of the additional trivia. All the major events -- and many of the minor ones -- are spelled out in great detail. From the production of every studio album to the construction of his homes on Martha's Vineyard to his relationships with his children, White was either present to document it or spoke to someone who was. It was clearly a Herculean task, as evidenced by the book's lengthy notes on sources. In fact, the post-narrative sections of the book (sources, detailed discographies for JT and all his siblings, plus an exhaustive index) span more than 50 pages. Those pages, along with the four sections of photos, make for some of the most interesting trivia found in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Biographer needs to do more homework, less overwriting
Review: If there's one James Taylor song a biographer ought to know, it's "Fire and Rain," right? Yet on p. 171 Billboard editor Timothy White quotes the last verse as follows: "Don't notice when the cold wind blows; it'll turn your head around." Don't _notice_? Where the heck did he get that? As anybody who knows the song should know, the line is, "Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around." (And it's not a trivial point, either, He's using the "quote" to make a point about the meaning of the song.) He's pretty tiresome in general when he tries to write about music. When, for example, was the last time you heard percussion described as "marvelously astringent"? Do you even know what that _means_? I sure don't. And why do we have to describe every third song JT ever wrote as a "sonnet"? _None_ of them are sonnets, gol-durn it. (And no, gang, Gene Pitney's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" was NOT the theme song of the John Ford movie, even if it was originally supposed to be.) Call me pedantic if you like, but White deserves it: he's as pedantic as they come, not to mention pompous and precious. For example, he's dug up some information on Scottish "waulking" songs, and he insists that this information somehow tells us something or other about JT's music -- not because JT knew what a "waulking" song was or ever wrote one in his life, but because he released an album called _Walking Man_ and White can use that title as a source of puns. For an entire chapter. The first hundred-plus pages of this longwinded, overwrought book aren't even about JT at all; they're a history of the Taylor family from seventeenth-century Scotland to the twentieth-century US. This is interesting stuff, but it didn't need to be a hundred pages long (over one-fourth of the length of the book!). I was buying a book about JT, not about Isaac Taylor the Scottish barrelmaker. It's not that I mind the family history. It's just that White seems to have convinced himself he's writing some sort of sprawling epic novel that also doubles as an Important Sociological Document. But the thing reads like an extended (and very poorly written) album review. It's okay for what it is, I guess, and White has at least included some informative history of JT himself (based on lots of personal interviews and industry-insider information). And the photos are pretty cool too. But man oh man, how much crap you have to wade through to get to the good stuff. There's interesting material on the Taylor siblings, too. But as an earlier review pointed out, White writes as though Livingston Taylor's "My Father's Eyes" first appeared on 1998's _Snapshot_. It didn't; it was on _Our Turn to Dance_, released well before the Taylors' father passed on. White makes it sound like Liv wrote it for the old man's funeral. There's just too much of this stuff for me to rate the book very highly. Sure, it's the best available source of information on JT -- but that's too bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Geneology and discography, but a biography? Nyeh.
Review: If you want to know everything in the world about JT's music history, including practically every person he ever shook hands with, read this. If you're looking for something to put you to sleep at night, read it. If you're looking for a good, readable biography, skip it.
Rating:
Summary: Like reading an encyclopedia
Review: If you want to know everything in the world about JT's music history, including practically every person he ever shook hands with, read this. If you're looking for something to put you to sleep at night, read it. If you're looking for a good, readable biography, skip it.
Rating:
Summary: A Final Triumph from Timothy White
Review: It's interesting how closely Timothy White's eclectic interests mirror my own. I've read his books on Bob Marley, Brian Wilson, and now James Taylor (plus his book ROCK STARS, which has the best interview ever with Pete Townshend). They are easily the best books on each of these artists and I always learn far more about the men and the cultures from which they came than I thought I would. It's sad that White died so young this year; his work will be missed. This book on Taylor tells the whole story of JT's life and career, with respect but with few punches pulled. The input of James himself, plus family and friends helps flesh out the portrait. JT's important but often neglected place in the pantheon of popular music is firmly established here. I could have done with a little less of the 400 years of Taylor family history, but it does add an interesting background to the story. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: All the fire and rain of Taylor's life.
Review: James Taylor is "the archetypal singer-songwriter," Danny Kortchmar says in this new biography about his lifelong friend. "He's the mould" (p. 304). Few would disagree. In his well-researched biography, Timothy White follows Taylor through all the fire and rain of the singer-songwriter's fascinating life. That life really begins at page 98 of White's book, when we find James at age 12 tingling at the sight of a Fender electric guitar while window shopping in New York City. (In the first hundred pages of his book, White traces Taylor's ancestral saga and "privileged lineage" (p. 107) in great detail.) Soon thereafter, we find James ("Stringbean") hanging out with Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar in Martha's Vineyard, before dropping out of school and admitting himself into a mental hospital for nine months (p. 114). Because of his "crazy papers," Taylor was ineligible for the draft (p. 115). Taylor began using heroin in 1966 (p. 117), during which time he was playing his music for burgers and fries (p. 117). After moving to London, Taylor was discovered by Paul McCartney, who signed him to Apple Records. "Wow, he's great," the former Beatle said (p. 135). It was in London that Taylor's career really started. As he was recording his first album, the Beatles were recording "Hey Jude," "Revolution," and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in the same Apple studio. White's biography succeeds at offering insights into many of Taylor's songs. Written after the suicide of a friend, and in part while Taylor was again in a mental hospital, I will listen to "Fire and Rain" now with new depths of meaning. After his relationship with Joni Mitchell (p. 178), Taylor met Carly Simon at a Cat Stevens' concert on April 6, 1971 (p. 189), and during their ten-year marriage, we find Taylor making music with his wife and friends, Mitchell and Carole King, while partying with John Belushi and drinking volcanoes with Jimmy Buffett in 1979 until he passed out (p. 268). James and Carly were divorced in 1983. Page after page, White's biography reveals the secrets of Taylor's life, even down to the tattoo he shares with his family (p. 315). I've listened to James Taylor's music all my life, and I've listened to his "Secret o' Life," well, maybe hundreds of times. Not only is he a "guitar virtuoso" (p. 304), his songs have always been relevant to the passing times of my life. This prompted me to read White's well-researched biography. As a result, I not only have an even greater appreciation for Taylor, the singer-songwriter, but also for his music. G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Portrait of An Artist
Review: Long Ago and Far Away - James Taylor - His Life and Music is the legacy of a friendship between between a gifted singer-songwriter and an equally gifted writer-journalist. Timothy White has exhaustively researched and courageously presented an historical documentary and candid profile of James Taylor: making music, msking friends, making due and making it big. This protrait of an artist is at once brutally honest yet somehow
comforting in its realism. Singing-songwriting and performing while you are discovering who you are and who you hope you will be is a long and arduous journey. If you really want to know what its like to be James Taylor - - - - - - its now in print.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody but James Taylor, Choppy with excessive filler
Review: The author was obviously starved for real James Taylor information, and launches on tangent after tangent..... even after an extended tease, there is little true insight or information about James. A waste of money and time.
Rating:
Summary: You Are There
Review: The enjoyment gotten from Long Ago And Far Away was in completely foreseen areas. The chance for us to learn about seatrading and the process of a Scottish family's immigration to the United States catches you off guard. All the material was woven really simply within a sense of a young man's life and an innocent period in the music culture. You watch and almost participate as all the forces come of age. The chapter on Ike Taylor in Antarctica was a surprise, frightening. Everything comes together, not like a puzzle, almost like a tapestry (Carole King plays is a large role). No words or details felt unneeded, which helped the flow forward, as if it was a travel book. It makes us wonder what we take for granted with other people's fame and its price.
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